A US Senate committee on Wednesday approved an international treaty that
the Bush administration and major energy companies say will help the US lay
claim to huge amounts of oil and natural gas in the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of
Mexico and elsewhere.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Law of the Sea Treaty
by a vote of 17-4. All the Democrats on the panel supported the treaty, while
all of the "no" votes came from Republicans. Some Republicans say the measure,
which would be enforced by the United Nations, would undermine US sovereignty.

US energy companies say the treaty is needed to ensure access to oil and
gas reserves in the world's oceans. The American Petroleum Institute, an
industry trade group, estimates that the measure would bring an additional 4.1
million square miles of ocean under US jurisdiction.

It would also broaden the definition of "continental shelf" in a manner
that could allow more US oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean, API said.
This is important, it added, because Russia, Denmark and other countries are
laying claim to resources there.

Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, the Democratic chairman of the foreign
relations panel, said the treaty would give the US oil and gas industry the
"legal certainty" it needs to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in
offshore drilling projects.

Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the panel's top Republican, echoed that
view. "Our ability to claim exclusive right to the vast extended continental
shelf will be seriously impeded" if the treaty is not ratified, he said.

The committee vote Wednesday is the first step in what is expected to be
a contentious battle to formally ratify the treaty. In order to take effect,
the measure must pass the full 100-member Senate with a two-thirds majority,
or 67 votes. Republicans currently hold 49 seats in the Senate.

It was unclear Wednesday when--or even if--the Senate's Democratic
leadership would bring the treaty to the chamber floor for a vote. Senate
Republican leaders, led by Trent Lott of Mississippi, have threatened to
filibuster the measure, saying it would undermine US sovereignty.

Lott and other Republicans say the treaty would not facilitate more US
energy production because other parties to the measure would vote against US
interests.

--Brian Hansen, brian_hansen@platts.com